The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Bauchi

  • Late Bauchi Deputy Governor’s wish

    The dying wish of the late former Deputy Governor of Bauchi state and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Garba Gadi is for Nigeria not to fall into the hands of those he described as “rogue elements”, his family has revealed.

    In a statement in Abuja weekend, his grand son, Ghazali Mohammed said his grand father was particularly concerned about efforts by some Nigerians to frustrate the anti-corruption crusade of the Buhari administration and appealed to Nigerians to do everything possible to disallow these group of Nigerians the opportunity to occupy leadership position in the country again.

    Gadi, who was  Co-chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Merger Committee has been ill for about two years and died of cancer at an Indian hospital last week. He has since been buried in his home town according to Islamic rites.

    Ghazals Mohammed said “my grand father admonished Nigerians and in particular the APC not to allow rogue elements to rule Nigeria again.” 

    “If nothing else, he said that President Muhammadu Buhari has instituted policies designed to plug the leakages of our public finance forever. With transparency instituted, everything will fall in place. 

    “This is why these rogue elements at every turn are putting obstacles on the anti-graft war being waged by President Buhari. They are also obstructing Buhari’s foreign loans meant to develop the country’s deficit infrastructure. They don’t want Buhari to succeed and .” 

    He said before his death, the late Garba Gadi informed them that he has forgiven those who illegally impeached him as the state deputy governor and has put the issue behind him, but was grateful to the team of lawyers led byAbubakar Malami, SAN, Okoi Obono Obla Esq and Femi Falana, SAN who offered him pro bono services in the course of the legal battle to upturn his impeachment.

    “His sole worry before he died was corruption which he believed is at the root of Nigeria’s underdevelopment, the emergence of Boko Haram and gross unemployment,” Muhammed said. 

    The late Garba Gadi was removed as the deputy governor by the former governor of Bauchi, Malam Isa Yuguda, when he refused to join him to decamp from the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party ( ANPP) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the matter is  which is still pending at the Supreme Court. 

    He later joined the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), where he became the Chief of Staff to the Chairman of the party, Prince Tony Momoh, and represented the CPC in the merger committee that gave birth to the APC.

  • Bauchi governor sacks cabinet, appoints new SSG

    Bauchi governor sacks cabinet, appoints new SSG

    Gov. Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi on Thursday dissolved his  cabinet , sacked the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Bello Ilelah  and disengaged his Special Assistants.

    A statement to that effect, signed by Permanent Secretary, Special Duties and Political Affairs, Malam Saidu Maikobi, directed the affected appointees to handover the affairs of their ministries to their Permanent Secretaries, latest July 21.

    Maikobi also announced the appointment of Alhaji Mohammed Nadada as the new SSG, while Brig-Gen Ladan Yusuf (Rtd) had been retained as Special Adviser on Security.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the new SSG, Nadada, a 1978 graduate of Law from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria,  had worked with the State Ministry of Justice, Bauchi State Investment and Property Development Company Ltd and New Africa Merchant Bank Ltd, among others.

    He was also the SSG from 1999 to 2006 under the administration of Alhaji Ahmed Muazu.

    He had also contested as the PDP Gubernatorial candidate in 2007, but was defeated by the then ANPP candidate, Malam Isa Yuguda.

  • Maitama Sule died when Nigeria needed him most – Sen. Matori

    Maitama Sule died when Nigeria needed him most – Sen. Matori

    Alhaji Salisu Matori, former senator of Bauchi South Senatorial District, said on Tuesday that the late Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule died at a time the country needed him most.

    Matori, who is also the Group Managing Director of Matori Group of Companies, said this in Bauchi while reacting to the death of the former Nigerian envoy.

    “We lost Alhaji Maitama Sule at a time this country really needs him more than before with the current political issues overheating the country.

    “We know he always plays the role of a peacemaker between the various conflicting interests in our country.

    ”So it is very unfortunate that he has left the scene so soon when his patriotic and selfless services are needed more than ever before.

    “His was a kind of life that each and every right thinking person should emulate.

    “It was his selfless service, the selfless lifestyle that he led, the legacy which he left behind that are worthwhile. They are there for everybody to see.

    “Everybody who had the opportunity to work closely with him, as I did, will appreciate the kind of great person and rare specie of human he was on the continent of African today.”

    Matori, who is also the Dan-Masani Bauchi, expressed the hope that Nigerians would emulate the exemplary life and leadership style of the deceased.

    “The youth and every one of us should look closely because there is a lot that we should learn from the kind of life that he lived.

  • Dogara’s wife helps Bauchi rice farmers

    No fewer than 3,000 women rice growers in Bauchi State have received farm inputs to facilitate their cultivation. Wife of Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara, Gimbiya gave them hybrid rice seedlings, fertilisers and herbicides. She made the donations through her non-governmental organisation Sun of Hope Foundation. Before giving out the items, Mrs Dogara explained that it was the first time she would be making an agro-allied intervention.

    The seeds are of new varieties: lowland rice known as Faro 4.4 and Faro 6.1, which are harvestable in just four months after sowing. She warned, though, saying, “It is not for eating,” because they are fortified with poisonous storage chemicals that will last for two years.

    Mrs Dogara reminded the women that they were chosen for the gesture because of the belief that if a woman gets a seed, she makes a bountiful harvest out of it. She advised them not to sell the items, but make judicious use them on the farm.

    She said that when sown and properly tendered, each 10kg bag given is capable of yielding 10 to 12 50kg bags of rice, which means, a total yield of 33,000 to 39,600 (50kg) bags of rice are expected from the gesture.

    Sarah Drambi Kefas, Programme Coordinator, Sun of Hope Foundation, traced the establishment and activities of the Foundation to Gimbiya’s childhood dream of assisting the less privileged whenever the opportunity and means to do so, presented.

    The Sun of Hope, according to her, focuses mainly on medical outreach with special attention to maternal care and agriculture that target rural dwellers. She said the foundation last year launched a health programme for free medical outreach in Ningi Local Government Area of Bauchi State and extended assistance to the Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) Centre there.

    She recalled also that Kaduna and Akwa Ibom states had benefitted from the Foundation’s goodwill, having conducted free medical outreach and supplied hospital consumables to different facilities as well as assisted in settling medical bills for some surgically operated patients in those states.

    Sa’adatu, wife of Ali Isa JC, a member from Gombe applauded Gimbiya Dogara for resuscitating the hitherto comatose Honourable Members Wives Association.

    She congratulated her for her gesture to the underprivileged and advised beneficiaries not to allow the effort waste by judiciously using the items towards achieving bumper harvests for family and national interests. She also told other women to exercise patience as subsequent gestures could reach them.

    Oluwaseye Ogunwumiyi (Southwest) said the Speaker’s wife had put smile on so many faces across Nigeria with her passion about touching the lives of the people, saying she got to know her through the activities of HOMWAN and it has been wonderful.

    “Many women have been making impact in the Southwest due to what we learnt from HOMWAN. Today, she is not just touching the lives of people, but has touched generations to come,” she added.

    “Dogara’s wife has brought the sun that is shining across Bauchi state. She has been a cheerful giver and I am a witness – nobody comes around her without feeling her heart of giving. I want to urge you men to continue to encourage the good works she is doing through your wives,” said Stella Tony Eso wife of a member from Akwa Ibom state in South-South.

    The All Progressive Congress (APC) Women Leader, Northeast Zone, Fatima Danjuma said APC’s national headquarters was proud of the Speaker and Mrs. Gimbiya Dogara because they represent the party’s dream of improving lives.

  • FOMWAN calls on pregnant women to be regular in attending antenatal clinic

    FOMWAN calls on pregnant women to be regular in attending antenatal clinic

    Secreary of Federation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN), Bauchi chapter, Mrs Habiba Saidu, has called on pregnant women in the state to be regular in attending antenatal clinics.

    Saidu made the call on Monday while distributing food items and clothing materials to women in Jama’are town of Jamaare Local Government Area of the state.

    She said attendance of the clinic was paramount to ensure good health of the mother and the unborn child, adding that it also helped in the detection of challenges likely to be faced during delivery.

    “We are the women that give birth, nurse and nurture our children and I want to believe that we all want these processes to start well and end well.
    “Therefore, we should not feel reluctant to attend ante natal clinics; that is very important for you and your babies,” she said.
    She also urged mothers to ensure the enrollment and retention of their school-aged daughters in schools.
    Also speaking, another member of FOMWAN, Mrs Uwani Abubakar, said that the items distributed to the women were donated by the wife of the State Governor, Mrs Hadiza Abubakar.

    She said similar exercise would be undertaken in Bauchi,,Misau and Dass Local Government Areas.

    She enjoined women to pray for leaders to have the wisdom to discharge their duties for the development of the state and he country at large.

  • Bauchi SDGs Office executes N1.2bn projects in two years – Official

    Bauchi SDGs Office executes N1.2bn projects in two years – Official

    The Bauchi State Office of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) says it has executed projects, worth N1.2 billion, across the state within the last two years.

    Hajiya Fatimah Halilu, the state Director-General of the agency, said this in Bauchi on Friday, while briefing journalists on the achievements of the agency in the last two years.

    She said that the projects, which included health, water and environmental schemes, were executed under the 2015 Conditional Grant Scheme (CGS) of the agency.

    Halilu, who noted that the projects were jointly funded by the federal and state governments, said that the two tiers of government contributed N6 million each.

    She said that 19 primary health centres, staff quarters and VIP toilets were constructed in various locations across the state during the period.

    “We also drilled 33 solar-powered boreholes, 57 hand-pumped boreholes, supplied six ambulances and equipped 19 primary health centres, which were constructed across the state.

    “In spite of challenges, most of the projects have been completed and ready for inauguration, while a few are nearing completion.

    “We are awaiting executive approval from Gov. Muhammed Abubakar (of Bauchi State) to start the inauguration of the projects,” she said.

    Halilu said that the state SDGs Office, in conjunction with Google Nigeria Ltd., had trained 2,340 unemployed youths in digital applications.

    She said that the beneficiaries were expected to set up their own enterprises as digital marketing experts, as part of efforts to achieve the targets of SDGs in the country.

    She said that the governor paid N4.68 million as allowances to the beneficiaries, in addition to the stipend which the SDGs Office gave them during the training.

    Besides, Halilu said that the SDGs Office organised various capacity building workshops for its workers to enhance their service deliver.

    She said that management staff of the agency had undertaken advocacy and public sensitisation visits to all the six emirate councils in the state.

    She said that it had placed advertisements in the print and electronic media to further enlighten the citizens on the specific goals of the SDGs.

  • UNICEF to establish G4G in 100 Bauchi schools

    UNICEF to establish G4G in 100 Bauchi schools

    The United Nations For Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Bauchi office, says it will support the establish Girls for Girls (G4G) initiatives in 100 schools across the state.

    The Chief of Party of UNICEF, Bauchi office, Mr. Abdullahi Kaikai disclosed this on Friday while briefing newsmen to celebrate the 2017 Day for the African Child in Bauchi.

    He said that the establishment was in collaboration with the Bauchi State Universal Basic Education aimed at empowering girls with knowledge, skills and confidence needed to enroll and remain in school.

    Kaikai said that UNICEF would also ensure that one million additional girls were enrolled into schools under the Girls Education Project, Phase 3 (GEP3).

    “The G4G will empower girls with information and knowledge to help build their capacity to stand up for themselves.

    “UNICEF is also working closely with the Bauchi state government under the GEP3 to ensure that one million girls are enrolled in school across the state.

    “It is well known that when you educate a girl, you educate a nation,” he said.

    He called on states such as Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Plateau and Taraba to send all their children to school, especially the girls.

    Speaking on the child protection, Kaikai said “one of the ways the states will ensure protection for the child is by domesticating the Nigeria Child Rights Law,” he said.

    He said that out of the 12 states that were yet to domesticate the law, four – Bauchi, Adamawa, Jigawa and Gombe, all from the Bauchi Field office were yet to domesticate the law.

    Kaikai said that from January to June, UNICEF had committed 20 million dollars to the states under the Bauchi office in various women and children activities.

    He called on all states under the Bauchi office to make policies to enact laws that would protect the rights of the children.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 2017 theme for the Day of the African Child is: “The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development for Children in Africa: Accelerating Protection, Empowerment and Equal Opportunity.

  • FG alerts on birdflu outbreak of in 7 states, FCT

    FG alerts on birdflu outbreak of in 7 states, FCT

    The Federal Government on Friday alerted the public to the outbreak of Avian Influenza or Bird Flu in the FCT and seven states of the country.

    raised the alert at a meeting with state Commissioners of Agriculture in Abuja on Friday.

    Mshelbwala listed the states affected by the outbreak to include Bauchi, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Nasarawa, Plateau, FCT and lastly, which reported a case on May 30.

    He said that the disease had spread across 26 states of the federation and the FCT since it started in 2008 affecting 800 farms in no fewer than 123 local government areas.

    Mshelbwala, who said that there were no scientifically proven vaccines for bird flu, noted that the Federal Government was adopting quarantine, movement control, stamping out, decontamination and bio-security measures to curb the spread.

    The director expressed regret over the poor bio-security practices by some poultry farmers, adding that it was the major reason for the continuous spread of the disease.

    According to him, the Federal Government has paid over N674 million in compensations to 269 farmers across the affected states.

    “Our national action plan encourages proper regulation of the poultry industry and enforcement of annual registration of all actors along the poultry value chain including farmers, traders, egg merchants and feed millers.

    “It also encourages the creation of veterinary extension services to facilitate the control and proper inspection of poultry and poultry products,’’ he said.

    Mshelbwala said that the way forward to the containment of the disease was to ban importation of poultry and products, quarantine and bio-security measures, among others.

    He, however, warned poultry farmers against illegal vaccination of birds, saying that it was a deadly alternative to the control of the disease.

  • Bauchi, UNESCO sign MoU to train 50,000 girls, women

    Bauchi, UNESCO sign MoU to train 50,000 girls, women

    Bauchi state government and UNESCO on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to train 50, 000 girls and women in basic education through the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT).

    Mr. Macaulay Olushola, National Professional Officer, Communication and Information Sector, UNESCO Abuja, said this in a statement.

    Olushola said that the MoU was signed during the courtesy visit of some UNESCO officials to Bauchi State Governor, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the empowerment programme would be the second phase of the project by UNESCO and product of Procter and Gamble, a Consumer Product company.

    The project in its first phase empowered 60,000 girls and women in the state.

    The statement quoted the governor as saying, “we must give the opportunity for those who lost the opportunity of education during their childhood.

    “This will enable the 50,000 girls and women have a second chance so that citizens of the state will enjoy basic education, which in turn will lead to better life for them.

    “Education opens all doors, health care delivery improves, when you have that, other social ills are attacked and settled,” the governor said.

    Also, Mr. Yao Ydo, the Director, Multi-Sectorial Regional office, Abuja, said the project would empower the girls and women in skills development through Information Communication Technology.

    According to Ydo, “School Meet the Learners Approach” would be deployed to implement the project that would last for two years.

    “The School Meet the Learners Approach project, is for the empowerment of girls and women in literacy and skills development through the use of ICT.

    “It is expected to improve the performance of the low performing Junior Secondary School Two (JSS 2) girls who have difficulties in some specific subjects in school.

    “It will also empower women on literacy and skills development through the use of ICT.

    “The signing of the MoU opens another window of opportunity in Bauchi State, prepares us to move together to empower 50,000 girls and women in the next two years of the project,” he said.

     

  • Govt to build N50b roads in Bauchi

    The Federal Government is to build roads across Bauchi State, worth over N50 billion, the Speaker of House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara has said.

    Dogara, who spoke on Saturday while launching road projects in his Dass/Tafawa Balewa/Bogoro Federal Constituency, said the project is a joint effort of members of the National Assembly from the state.

    He said the roads to be built are Bauchi-Gombe Federal Highway, Kano-Bauchi North and Bauchi Central, up to Maiduguri.

    According to him, if the roads were to be done by the state government, it would take 10 years.

    “I want to say these are not the only roads we will do, there are others and by the grace of God, we will finish them in the next two years.

    “The contractor hired to build the roads is here and he will start work soon. We will ensure the highway from Kano-Bauchi, North-Bauchi Central, down to Maiduguri, attracts the appropriate funding to finish it in time.

    “The roads will be built at about N50 billion. If we were to rely on the state government alone, this cannot be done in 10 years. So who says there’s no benefit in representation?”